Hamilton wins in Sochi, Mercedes wins

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) scored his ninth victory of the season at the Russian GP, ​​the 42nd of his career, remaining undefeated in Sochi. The double world champion played behind his teammate Nico Rosberg until the German was forced to return to the pits following a broken accelerator pedal. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) having taken second place, the four-time world champion becomes Lewis Hamilton's closest rival in the Championship.

Sergio Pérez (Force India) took the fourth podium of his career, the first of the season, after struggling for a long time with worn tires. The Mexican seemed condemned to fifth place before Valtteri Bottas (Williams) and Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) did not hang on in the last lap. If the FW37 remained there, the SF15-T crossed the finish line in fifth place behind Felipe Massa (Williams). But the commissioners decided to impose a 30-second penalty on the 2007 world champion who found himself eighth behind Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull), Felipe Nasr (Sauber) and Pastor Maldonado (Lotus).

The McLaren de Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso completed the top ten at the finish, but the Asturian lost a place to Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) after receiving a five-second penalty for exceeding the track limits at turn 16.

The race saw seven drivers retire. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) and Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) clashed on the first lap. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) believes it may have suffered a suspension problem. Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso) saw a front brake disc break. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) came off the track violently but the Frenchman was unhurt.

Discover the analysis of the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2033 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.